Preface

The Government of Latvia has made significant strides to innovate in the face of recent crises and shocks, while continuing to pursue efforts to improve the country’s social, environmental and economic wellbeing by tackling tough challenges as climate change, the sustainable development goals, smart specialisation and more. Despite this, innovation is needed more than ever. The governance environment we operate in is becoming increasingly complex: challenges such as rising costs of living, emerging technologies, security threats and pressures on the healthcare system demand that the public sector move quickly to ensure we deliver effective services to citizens while grappling with new and emerging challenges.

Innovation is not a new concept in the Latvian public sector. This report has helped to highlight the many innovations that have already been developed and implemented, and I praise the desire of individual public servants evidenced in this research who have developed new, innovative and better solutions for the people we serve.

However, there are missed opportunities too: innovation should not be carried on the shoulders of individuals alone. This report showcases how innovative capacity in Latvia can be enhanced at systems, organisational and individual levels so that public servants are empowered to work in new and novel ways to improve the impact and outcomes of the public sector.

This report comes at a vital moment in the development of the public sector: with the launch of the Modernisation Plan and an influx of initiatives through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), the Latvian public sector has an opportunity to change its trajectory; to transform how it operates to deliver the best possible outcomes to the public while steering the country towards a prosperous future. This change will demand courage to challenge our own norms, critically question operating processes and governance frameworks, and embrace the risks that come with working in new ways in uncertain contexts.

This report provides foundational insights that form the basis for the co-creation of an innovation strategy aimed to prompt concrete action and transformation to deliver in new and novel ways to citizens.

pictureSincerely,

Jānis Citskovskis, Director of the Latvian State Chancellery

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